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| Barbers point lighthouse. |
The U.S.
state of Hawai'i is an
archipelago of islands in the central North Pacific Ocean.
Originally it was an independent Polynesian kingdom but the islands were annexed by the United States in 1898 and became the 50th state
of the Union in 1959.
The largest and easternmost island is also named Island of Hawai'i,
but residents still call it by the old name ‘ Big Island’.
The capital and only large city, Honolulu, is on
the island of O'ahu. Maui, Moloka'i, and the smaller
islands of Lāna'i and Kaho'olawe lie between the Big Island
and O'ahu, while Kaua'i lies to the west.
How many lighthouses are there on the Isalnd of O’ahu?
We have 6 lighthouses on the Island.
These lighthouses of Oahu
are as diverse as mix of friendly people
living on this island paradise. The Diamond Head Lighthouse, it stands as a
testament to beauty with its Fresnel lens still shining at 60,000 candle power
over the Pacific to warn vessels to stay away from the reefs at Waikiki. In
contrast, the Ka’ena Point Lighthouse has fallen over and lies in the sands of
Ka’ena Point. Ka’ena Point Lighthouse is listed on the Lighthouse Digest’s
Doomsday List, but later removed from the list as it was thought too difficult
to salvage.
The Barber’s point lighthouse is at 45-minute drive west of
the Waikiki area.
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| Location of Barbers point . |
Arthur, captained by Henry
Barber, was sailing west from Honolulu to Canton with a load of sea otter pelts aboard, when,
shortly after leaving Honolulu, it struck a
coral reef that extends from the southwest tip of the island of Oahu.
Six of the crew of twenty-two along with the ship was lost in the wreck. Since
the grounding, the point has been associated with Captain Baber of the
ill-fated vessel.
It is named after Captain
Henry Barber. The incidence associating the captain’s name with the lighthouse
is very sad. On October 31, 1796, the brig
In 1968, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names dropped the
apostrophe, changing the name from Barber's Point to Barbers Point.
Another wreck occurred at the point in 1855 when the French
whaleship Marquis de Turenne grounded on the reef after taking on
supplies at Honolulu.
The first tower was "constructed of coral stone laid in
a cement mortar in the days of King Kalakaua in 1888" according to a
caption on an official photo sent to Headquarters in 1934 along with a frame
dwelling. It was forty two feet tall. The light was exhibited for the
first time on March 29, 1888, and William Hatton Aalona was hired as its first keeper on 9 April 1888.
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| Original Light house Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard |
Early in the morning of August 31, 1906, the army transport
ship Sheridan
ran aground on Barbers Point. Keeper Hatton Aalona was relieved when the
transport officers admitted his light was burning.
To make its light more readily distinguishable from the
steady plantation lights in the vicinity, the lighthouse was remodeled in 1912
to accommodate a fourth-order, double-flash lens illuminated by an incandescent
oil vapor lamp.
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| Staircase outside the Lighthouse before alteration Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard |
The new lens revolved once every five seconds to produce two
0.1-second flashes separated by 1.1 seconds and followed by a 3.7-second
eclipse. This series of photographs shows the lighthouse in 1912 before,
during,
and after
the major alteration. Note that prior to the remodeling an external set of
metal steps led to the top of the lighthouse.
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| Alteration being done-Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard |
By 1930, the tower was showing signs of deterioration and
plans were made to replace the structure. An appropriation of $20,000 was
secured in 1933 for erecting a seventy-two-foot, reinforced-concrete,
cylindrical tower next to the original one.
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| Lantern room transferred to new lighthouse Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard |
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| Aerial view of the light house Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard |
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| Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard |
At the same time, generators were
installed at the station to supply electricity to both the lighthouse and the
keeper’s dwellings. The lens was transferred from the old tower to the new one,
where it was first lit on December 29, 1933 500-watt bulb. With a crowd of
interested spectators looking on, cuts
were made in the coral stone on one side of the old tower, causing it
to topple
over.
On April 15, 1964, a thirty-six-inch airway beacon replaced
the station’s Fresnel lens, and Fred Robins, the last keeper, left the
automated lighthouse later that year on December 7.
The lantern room was likely removed from the Barbers Point
Lighthouse when it was automated. In 1985, the airway beacon was replaced by a
Double Barreled Rotating Optic Directional Code Beacon (DCB-224), which
increased the range of the light to twenty-four nautical miles.
Barber's
Point was decommissioned by the Navy in 1998 and turned over to the State of
Hawaiʻi for use as Kalaeloa Airport and is used by the US Coast Guard, Hawaii
Community College Flight Program, Hawaiʻi National Guard and general aviation,
as well as an alternate landing site for Honolulu International Airport.
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| Ka lae loa, Beach near the Light House |
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| Ka lae loa, Beach near the Light House |
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| Ka lae loa, Beach near the Light House |
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| Barbers point beach house as seen today. |
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| Ka lae loa, Beach near the Light House |
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| The door to the lighthouse |
One of Oahu's main luaus,
Germaine's Luau, is
located right by the lighthouse. Germaine’s Luau in Oahu Hawaii was founded in the 1970’s near Sea Life Park and than moved to the current
location. You will enjoy an authentic Hawaiian cuisine, a beautiful sunset and
traditional Hawaiian dances.
The
Lonely Planet guide to Hawai`i
calls it an "impersonal affair" with "a buffet dinner, drinks, a
Polynesian show and related hoopla," but coupled with a visit to the
lighthouse and a sunset over the ocean, it could be an enjoyable experience.
The lighthouse is owned by the Coast Guard. Grounds open,
tower closed.
References:
Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board, various years.
Annual Report of the Commissioner of Lighthouses, various
years.
The Lighthouses of Hawai`i,
Love Dean, 1986.
Lighthouses of the Pacific, Jim Gibbs, 1986.
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